the fault of others
by I Write Sins Not Tragidies
Summary: He turns on his heels and hurries back upstairs, making a beeline straight to the bathroom. There, he leans against the sink, staring down before bringing his eyes up to look in the mirror at himself. He's breathing heavily and looks pale. "It's because of me." He mumbles aloud, his voice broken and soft.


Brandon wakes up with a bit of a headache.

He tends to get them whenever he stays up later than usual; which is a reason he never really enjoyed sleeping over with friends. It's not that the wedding went too long, but...

_God_.

They _kissed_.

_A lot_.

There's a part of him that feels, well, awful, because Jude walked in and it was awkward and he's positive that didn't turn out well, and he has a girlfriend and everything, but then there's a part of him that's really happy. Because he has been pining after this girl forever, it seems (although it was only, like, two months), and she _likes him_ and they _kissed._

But none of that really matters, now, because it can't happen, obviously. They're getting adopted and it's kind of wrong and now it's all awkward, which is mostly what kept him up all last night, trying to think of a solution._ If we kept this a secret... No, no, no, that'd only last so long... When we're eighteen? No, we'd still be siblings... _

He hears commotion downstairs, and he decides it's about time to head down, not normally being one to stay in bed too long. With a tired groan, he puts his hand to his head as he lifts himself to his feet and shuffles out the door and down the stairs, finding his mothers frantically rushing around through the living room and into the dining room, Mariana curled up on the couch. His eyebrows draw together as Stef accidentally brushes against him in haste.

"What's going on?" He asks, uncomfortably scratching at the back of his neck.

Lena stops before him, setting her hands at his biceps, meeting his eyes. Her eyes don't have the usual luster, and he's concerned. "Have you seen Callie at all since last night?"

His mouth is agape for a moment, unsure what to say, but after a moment manages to shake his head. "No, why?"

He hears footsteps down the stairs behind him, and he turns his head to see Jude sleepily approaching, standing behind him. "What's going on?" Jude asks, a puzzled expression on his face.

Lena takes in a breath, squeezing her eyes closed. "Callie seems to have left last night when we all were sleeping."

"What?" Jude pushes past Brandon, who's unable to do much than stand there with his mouth wide open.

Lena's face goes from stoic to sympathetic, kneeling down to Jude's level. "We think she ran away, although we're not sure why." She pulls him into a comforting hug. "We're trying to find her, alright? We will. We will find her."

Meanwhile, Brandon's still standing there with his mouth agape, not saying a single word. He feels his stomach churn as he absorbs the news. _Callie's gone. Callie ran away. She left. _

_Because of you._

Oh, _God_, he feels like he's going to be sick. It is. It is because of him. Whether it's that she wanted to keep Jude safe with them or she was just uncomfortable, it's all because of him.

_Shit._

He turns on his heels and hurries back upstairs, making a beeline straight to the bathroom. There, he leans against the sink, staring down before bringing his eyes up to look in the mirror at himself. He's breathing heavily and looks pale.

"It's because of me." He mumbles aloud, his voice broken and soft.

He wants to scream at the top of his lungs, wants to throw up, kind of wants to cry, but he can't because he'll get, "Brandon, it's okay, are you okay" and "why are you acting like this, what's going on" and they'll find out and god dammit.

Instead, he steadies his face, wipes his eyes, and heads downstairs, grabbing the keys to the car from the key bowl, not bothering to do much else than slip on a pair of sneakers. He catches a glimpse of Jude's face, twisted and terrified, and he winces; _this is your fault._

"Where are you going?" He can hear his mother from the dining room, but he doesn't turn back to meet her questioning gaze that he can feel on his back.

"I'm going to find her." He announces before slamming the door behind himself.

And he will.

* * *

(He doesn't)


End file.
